


Tips and Tricks on How to S-Rank a Girl

by Strikeslip_Fault



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: A3! Rarepair Week 2020, F/M, Humor, Itaru is a nerd, No Beta, one's strength
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25288975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strikeslip_Fault/pseuds/Strikeslip_Fault
Summary: Itaru's strength lies in how good a gamer he is. Banri decides to challenge his gamer skills buy making a bet any noob could complete: S-Rank a girl in one week. For Itaru, Banri had just offered a novice level mission. How hard could it be to win a girl over?
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Tachibana Izumi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 62
Collections: A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020





	Tips and Tricks on How to S-Rank a Girl

**Author's Note:**

> This fic came about during The Clockwork Heartbeat cause his R card is adorable, but he's not my oshi so it never went anywhere. Then this week happened and it fit the theme so well. Because of that, this is set to be before Chikage joins the troupe, since he does make a few guest features. Hope I did the gamer boy justice!
> 
> Did I reference too many otome games because I have personal knowledge...maybe...

Itaru was a successful man, at least in his mind. In the morning he’d cosplay as a functional businessman and in the afternoon, he’d go home to his true life calling: online gaming. Everyone knew him in the gamer community, he was constantly top ranked in what he did, and all his money could go to gaming since he lived rent free. Sure sometimes he’d have to act or show up for practice but for ¾ of the year he was able reign, a king on his heavily purchased throne. At times he did have competition, but what is royalty without competition? 

The competition in question was sitting across from him helping him finish an online raid. As Banri, or competition/NEO as he dubbed him, took the final shot, Itaru leaned back adding another win to his flawless streak.   
  
“Man, were these noobs even trying? I didn’t even need to break a sweat” Itaru put his controller down as he took a big gulp from his Bountain Mew.   
  
“Did YOU even play? I feel like I carried this entire match. Thought I was just supposed to help.” Banri retorted watching as Itaru smugly shrugged his shoulders.   
  
“I felt like it was at your level so why waste my energy when we have bigger battles left today.”   
  
“At my level? You barely could get through this without my help”   
  
“Banri, c’mon you know I’m a pro at life. I might not be as easy-lifestyle as you but I have a pretty good grasp on things.” Ugh, Itaru thought. Sometimes he forgot what arguing with a teenager was like.   
  
“Really? So then why don’t you have a girlfriend or any semblance of a girl in your life? Unless you’re not telling me something…?” Banri watched as Itaru sputtered a bit on his drink, knowingly hitting a soft spot.   
  
“Banri, you and I BOTH know girls would only cut into my game time. Isn’t Kantoku enough? With how much she complains about acting, I don’t think I could deal with another one.”   
  
“So then wouldn’t she be ideal? Since she’s obsessed with acting and you’re obsessed with games, you both would have time to pursue your hobbies. I mean unless you’re saying it would be too hard to romance her. I can understand how that might be  _ above _ your level.” Banri continued to goad Itaru on, surprised at how easily Itaru was getting flustered.   
  
“Tch! S-ranking a girl is mad easy. Give me a few days and I’ll have her madly in love with me.”   
  
“One week. That’s all you get. If you achieve it before that, I’ll even go online and admit my fealty to you. Deal.” Banri held out his hand to seal the deal.   
  
“Deal. Now let’s get back to the game. The next round is queueing.” Itaru grabbed his controller, a new kind of fire in his eyes.   
  
Banri scoffed as he grabbed his controller to join the game. He couldn’t believe Itaru would fall for such easy bait. The only other person who would fall for this was Masumi but he was unabashedly in love with her. Were all adults this easy to dupe or was Itaru a different breed? 

\--   
Day 1: Boosting the Rank

Every good gamer knew that during the first few days of a good otome, you had to boost your own stats. So what would make real life any different? Fortunately for Itaru, this bet started on a Monday so if anything went awry, he could double his relationship points on Saturday and Sunday. That was not optimal but multiple strategies seem to be the best method since he couldn’t reset the day if he should accidentally lower any relationship points...not that it would happen. So for Itaru, Day 1 was mainly spent using his spare time at work researching otome games, making key notes of potential route breaks and normal/perfect endings. He spent little time on bad endings because some were simply outlandish. Locked in a cage? Someone turning into a beast? Jumping out a window because a guy’s cat ran away?

Sometimes even Itaru had to scoff at the extreme endings otome games had.

Getting back on track, Itaru finished up his uneventful day poised and ready to start his game. Entering the dorm, Itaru scanned the general seating area to see most of natsugumi watching a show. Disinterested, Itaru pondered his options. He could sit down here and wait for her to finally return, or he could play a few phone games in his room until dinner time, assuming she’d be home by dinner. After all, he contemplated, he couldn’t have the npcs curious in the change of his habits. Could throw off the whole biorhythm of his game.    
  
The gamer in him won quickly and he retreated into his room.

Later, after grinding up his character in a mobage, Itaru checked his clock to see at least 3 hours had passed. By now, Izumi MUST be home. He didn’t think he chose the hard mode for today’s game so maybe someone was testing him. Slicking his hair back, and checking his reflection, Itaru straightened up, confident in his pursuit. As he walked back into the main foray, he could hear Masumi’s agitating confessions of love. He still could barely understand that boy but having him near must mean that Izumi was around.   
  
Rounding the corner, Itaru looked to see Izumi preparing her dinner while most of the theater was fawning over her.  _ What Amateurs _ Itaru thought to himself. No woman is truly going to fall for you if all you do is follow her around like a lost pup. He could see Masumi still trying to use some of the tricks he taught him prior and he had to chuckle to himself. They truly did not have the skillset needed to S-Rank any girl let alone Izumi.   
  
“My my. Looks like Manager is quite popular as usual.” Itaru cocked his head to the side and grinned as Izumi looked up a bit flustered from all the attention.   
  
“Hey Itaru. Nice to see you down here too. Are you coming down for dinner?” Izumi looked up at Itaru as she finished serving herself.   
  
Always the gentleman, well sometimes the gentleman, Itaru strolled up to a chair and pulled it out for Izumi to sit in. “Only after you, Manager.” To boost his ranking further, he gave his award winning smile. No woman could deny his good looks, and he always got what he wanted at work once he showed a few pearly whites.   
  
“Oh! That’s kind of you, but actually I’m going to take my dinner to my room. I’ve had a bit of a long day so feel free to eat with each other. That was very kind of you though!” Not falling to his charm, Izumi grabbed her items and strolled to her room. As she left, Itaru froze. Did she not get the hint? Behind her, oblivious to all, was the telltale noise of Banri laughing as Itaru could only stare at her disappearing silhouette.

Well...at least he could say he boosted his relationship score somehow right?

\--

Day 2: Gifts, it’s always gifts in the beginning.    
  


Tuesday. Tuesdays are usually better than Mondays right? Itaru quietly gritted his teeth as he rode the train to work. There was no way his charm was wearing off, was it? He had to deal with Banri mocking him for the entirety of the night, until they went 1v1 in and he annihilated him. Barni blew off his loss saying Itaru must need to blow some steam from his failed attempts, but Itaru did not fall for his goad this time. Realizing how distracted Itaru was, Banri made some quick excuse about Itaru no longer being fun and retired early in the night. That only left Itaru even more time to backtrack and gauge what he did wrong.

He knew it couldn’t have been his smile. Afterall, that’s exactly what most girls want in a video game right? Pulling out his phone on the train, Banri began to google additional steps most otome games followed. He had played a few but he wanted to check the correlation between apps. After a few clicks and scrolling through a few forums, he finally figured out his next step. The real question became, whether to grab it before or after work. Assuming freshness might be a problem, Itaru decided to make a small pit stop after work. Entering work, Itaru quickly laughed to himself, amazed he overlooked such a simple method.

Work, yet again, proved to be boring. Just as a test, Itaru tested his smile out on a coworker. Hearing her swoon as he walked away, Itaru exhaled a bit. He knew Izumi to be a unique female, so maybe she was the hard mode he had to defeat. Nodding goodbye to his odd boss, Itaru beelined to the closest market, hoping they had received a fresh shipment. Only the best would raise his ranks up enough to at least B rank.

A couple hours passed and after a few purchases, Itaru knew he made the right choice. Walking into the foray today, luck appeared to be on his side. Sitting by herself in the living room, Izumi sat serenely as the sunlight brightened the bangs around her face. She seemed to be focused on the drama show that Muku got her and natsugumi into. Itaru looked around quickly to make sure Banri wasn’t lurking in some corner before he started his next relationship branch. Seeing just the two of them in the main space, Itaru thanked whatever gacha gods decided to bless him with this special moment. As he approached the sitting area, Izumi turned from her drama show, pausing it temporarily.

“Hey Itaru! Another long day at work.”    
  
“Yeah, another day in the life of a businessman. Fortunately, on the way home, I came across something and I wonder if you wanted to share it.” This time, Itaru did not flash his signature grin, hesitant to fail 2 days in a row. Izumi, curious, looked to see Itaru pull out chocolate covered strawberries. At first glance there appeared to be about 30 strawberries, some slightly melted from the travel.   
  
“Oh Itaru! Are those chocolate covered strawberries? What made you buy these?” Izumi’s eyes sparkled excited for the special treat.   
  
“It was on sale and I thought maybe we could share them. They seem to be something you really liked.” YES, Itaru thought. Hook, line, and sinker. There was absolutely no way Izumi’s ranking was not going up. He could hear the points adding up in his head.   
  
“Oh! I do enjoy a rare treat like this but there’s absolutely too many for me to eat. We absolutely must share them with the other troupes!” Excited, Izumi popped up from her chair preparing to grab a few utensils.

“I-er. I thought maybe it could just be us two...while we watch this drama? But if you want to invite others, the...more...the merrier”. Itaru had to grit the last few words out of his mouth. Most women did not appreciate jealous/territorial men so early in a relationship, but to invite the entire troupe? This woman truly only had a one track mind.   
  
“Yeah! I’m almost caught up on this drama so we can all watch the new episode together! This is such a great idea right before dinner. I never knew you had this side of you Itaru, but I really appreciate it.” With the sun reflecting off her, Izumi’s smile paralleled that of an angel. That stupid sun was part of the problem, making Izumi look so nice. At least that’s what Itaru told himself as he begrudgingly walked over to the kitchen to help her set up serving plates for everyone.

After calling everyone down, or at least the ones that returned from school/part time jobs, Itaru now sat surrounded by mostly younger troupe members and Izumi. Some thanked him for the strawberries, though most asked what alien swapped Itaru’s body for the man who bought those strawberries. Banri, who somehow was always involved, quietly chuckled to himself as he knew Itaru had failed again. With one glare, Itaru offered Banri’s strawberry to Juza, which led to another small scuffle between the two boys. It was a bit petty, but Itaru had to make up for Banri seeing him fail two days in a row.

But was it just him or did the sun always seem to angle on Izumi a bit too...perfectly.

\--

Day 3: The King Comes in to Save the Queen right?

Wednesday. What good happens on a Wednesday. Besides it being “hump day” as all his coworkers repeated tirelessly, he couldn’t comprehend the excitement. It might partially be because he was starting to have doubts he’d win this bet, but he’d never admit that. Rubbing his thumbs together, Itaru was at a loss about how he was truly going to win Izumi over. How is it a play can resolve in 1-2 hours and someone can madly fall in love, otomes can take 7 days max and yet in real time he was still struggling on day 3. Maybe...something catastrophic had to happen to make her start seeing him in a good light.

No no no no. That was bad thinking. As much as he wanted to rub his victory in Banri's face, he could never wish anything bad on Izumi. It wasn’t ENTIRELY her fault he was in this predicament but she could give him some leeway. Really...inviting a bunch of brats to eat what he bought her? He had spent so much of his gacha cash on her that he might not be able to pull as much for the next event. To make it worse, he truly did sit through 2 hours of a drama show that was cliche from the plot twist to the “edgy” cliffhanger. Perhaps that was why he was in such a bad mood at work. He didn’t let anyone know of course, but he was very tact with most conversations hoping to brood more on his next plan.   
  
By day’s end he had nothing. A checkpoint would have to fall in his lap for him to continue this save file. He’d hope something would come to him during his train ride but all he had was that something or someone needed to happen to make her aware of his presence, or at least his presence as a potential romantic link. Maybe this drama was getting into his head and he was being a bit too melodramatic. Sighing, Itaru entered the main entrance of the dorm unsurprised to see Omi in his second home: the kitchen.   
  
“Afternoon Itaru! Sorry to ask a favor as you walk through the door, but can you grab everyone? Dinner is almost ready.” As soon as Omi finished his sentence, he turned back to the cupboard to grab dishes and utensils.   
  
“Yeah yeah...where are they?” Really...as soon as he walked in? He could even change out of these tight business clothes. Itaru seriously started to wonder if he messed up something in his system starting this game.

“Last I heard, they’re in the yard enjoying the good weather. Maybe after dinner you should head out too. It’s really a nice day.”   
  
“Gotcha.” Itaru was half tempted to send a massive group text letting everyone know food was ready, but the last thing he needed was another groupchat he didn’t participate in. 

Itaru took his time heading to the courtyard hoping to find Izumi along the way but his biorhythm was truly off today. He checked his phone, working on his dailies, walking into what apparently was “attack each other” day. Half of natsugumi and taichi were attacking each other with foam swords, amping up each and every attack.  _ Really _ , Itaru thought to himself watching the carnage unfoil. In the middle of the destruction stood the target of his conquest. He saw the circle appear around her and approached to talk to her.   
  
“Hey Iz-” Before Itaru could finish his statement, he watched as Taichi was dramatically thrown back by a sneak attack from Tenma. Also in slow motion, he watched as Taichi’s back made contact with Izumi throwing her off of her feet nearly into the bench. Simultaneously, not thinking at all, Itaru extended out his arm to catch Izumi before she could injure herself. Not too fit, Itaru felt where Izumi collided with him, knowing he would bruise tomorrow. Taichi hit the ground as Itaru rounded Izumi to stand back up on her feet.   
  
“Wow...Itaru! You saved me! How long were you standing there?”   
  
“I, uh, just got here a couple seconds ago. I was tasked with letting everyone know that dinner was ready and with that I’m out.” Itaru waved with the hand that saved Izumi and winced a little feeling the skin on his arm tense a bit.   
  
“Oh you can’t leave yet! Let me check your arm. Are you okay?” Izumi grabbed Itaru’s arm and he looked confused. Did he accidentally almost walk away from a relationship scene?   
  
“Yeah Itaru! You’re like some suave prince stepping in to save the queen! You can’t leave yet!” Taichi cheered from the ground.   
  
“Sankaku king!” Misumi chipped in, making a triangle above his head.   
  
Hmm...maybe...he did. “Well, if I’m the king, does that make Izumi my queen?” He looked at Izumi as she checked his arm for any bruising. He asked the question smugly, knowing her reaction should be to blush and look away shyly.    
  
“Haha, that’s cute but I’m not a queen! And guys, this wouldn’t have happened if you guys weren’t playing so roughly. Especially you Tenma.” Almost as if the mood had been killed, Itaru heard the scratch of a record, watching as Izumi walked over to Tenma confiscating his foam sword as she lectured him.   
  
Did...did he say the wrong response? It was written in the script. The NPCs were even written in the script. Just what was going? He could hear the gates close on this scene as the event faded to black.

\--   


4: Ignore & Regroup

Today was a day he talked to no one. It was Thursday, but to him it was the midway point, and he had gotten nowhere. There was no telling what would happen if he didn’t win this bet. He didn’t want to admit it earlier in the day, but even he was starting to have doubts. His concern was so obvious, Chikage pulled him aside at work to make sure he truly wanted his job. After promising his boss he’d be at peak performance, he returned to his job, deciding to use this day to raise his own stats.

How foolish, he thought to himself, to not even raise his stats at least once. He assumed he started with at least a 9/10 on most traits except endurance but most girls didn’t go for the full beefcakes. If Izumi had shown any preference by now, she would’ve eloped with Tasuku. Thinking of a man so obsessed with acting eloping had Itaru laughing for a bit. The only thing that man would marry would be a script ala Tsuzuru. He used that image to get him through the rest of the day. 

Work flew the rest of the day and he was one of the first out once the time struck true. When he arrived home, he briefly greeted everyone and then headed straight into his room. As he changed into his comfort clothes he uploaded _ Fortune Lover,  _ a reverse harem focused on a girl named Maria who had multiple routes of love to pursue. Sure, it was a bit outside of his realm of gaming but he had to get in a woman’s head if he wanted to raise his intelligence score. He made sure to set an alarm to make sure he wouldn’t be late to raid and the rest of his night was spent learning just exactly was wrong with this Catarina girl. Surely she knew she was just a pawn in a very cliche love game.    


Wait...was he Catarina or Maria in his pursuit, and who would that make Izumi? Perhaps he would invest more time into this game once he completed his irl task.  
  
\--

Day 5 - Romantic Dates are the way right?

After spending a long night pursuing Nicol, since he felt he was the closest related to him, and clearing raids, Itaru felt refreshed. He had a cooler head and although he was on day 5 and made no progress, he decided his route must be the one where the target was unaware of how much they were in love until something serious happened. And that was why on a Friday, he was texting Izumi on his way to work. 

_ “Oi, Izumi. Are you busy tonight?” _

_ “I don’t have any other plans. Why?” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “My job gave me a free reservation to a restaurant and my boss bailed. Wanna join me?”  _ He was entirely fibbing about Chikage, but Izumi never needed to meet his boss. At least not while he was at the theater.    
  
_ “Uh, sure! I don’t see why not! Thanks for inviting me :)” _ YES! Itaru made a bit of a scene as his elbow hit the seat he was sitting on as he celebrated his good luck. Some of the others on the busy train looked at him but he was too caught up in his small victory to notice. He could hear the romance points going up in his mind and he couldn’t wait until she saw the type of place he had reserved. As he sent her the details for their reservation, he scanned his office wear he had worn today. He had gone a bit above making sure his slacks were ironed perfectly and even added a tie.   
  
He could care less about what the office thought. All that mattered was him being back on track with his romance route.

~~   
  
Work came and work left. He didn’t care. He did what was needed to prevent extra chiding and once the clock hit 5pm, again he was smiling and waving goodbye letting the office vaguely letting the office know he had plans. Of course most assumed a date, but he couldn’t ruin his luck or Chikage going out of his way to force him to stay longer. He was sure his boss was a sadist hidden behind glasses and did what he could not to fall in his sight.   
  
As he made his way to the fancy restaurant located a few miles from his job, he checked his phone to confirm Izumi was almost on his way there. He turned the final corner of his walk to see a gorgeous woman in a simple blue dress waiting near the doors. He had to blink twice to confirm it was his director he was staring at. Izumi had done herself up a bit adding a bit of gloss and mascara to her long eyelashes. Itaru could only stare from the block away as the wind built up a bit, blowing her hair around her face. Only after he realized he had been standing motionless in one spot he coughed and made his way towards Izumi.   
  
“Afternoon Manager. You look nice.” He played suave, something he learned from Geordo, the cruel hearted prince who hid behind a kind facade. Sounded like someone he knew…   
  
“Oh Itaru, hey! I hope I dressed up enough for this restaurant. I looked up some of the reviews so I did myself up a bit. I hope you like!” To add an emphasis to her transformation, Izumi twirled a bit, her skirt lifting in a perfect circle. Perfect...like her. Itaru felt his throat dry a bit, stuck between complimenting her and clicking his heels three times to make sure he was awake and this was truly happening.    
  
“Er-um. You look great. Ready to head in?” Itaru extended an elbow for Izumi to link her elbow into. She returned the favor and with that, the couple walked in.   
  
~~   
  
Dinner was...fun. Itaru never had much time to talk with Izumi himself, since she was often dealing with issues at hand with the theater or shooing Masumi away. The meal was a full three course meal and at first the conversation stayed safely around topics of the theater and future plays, but as the night went on and the wine arrived, both began to lose both space and time. At one point of the conversation, Izumi grilled Itaru about his gaming habits, and at another part Itaru grilled Izumi about the type of life she’d have if she wasn’t married to the theater. Both parties took the comments lightly reveling in the time spent with each other.   
  
As with all good times, the hours quickly passed, and before Itaru knew it, he was paying for the check. Izumi offered to chip in but Itaru promised her his job was reimbursing him. He was lying a bit since the reimbursement was the payment he made by working, but she didn’t need to know that. The two cleaned off the remaining dessert, and then started their trek home. Both parties agreed to walk to burn off some of the calories of such a rich dinner, enjoying the nice weather of the season.

Izumi seemed to be a bit more tipsy than she let on, so half of the walk was Izumi leaning on Itaru’s shoulder as the two talked about how delicious the food was. As Itaru looked down at Izumi, he felt his heart pick up a bit and wondered who was truly being pursued. He knew Izumi wasn’t interested in dating, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he could ace this rank. He still had 2 days left and there was a chance, but for now, he just simply reveled in the time he got to personally learn who Izumi was beyond his director. 

\---

Day 6 - Heartfelt Confession Time

Saturday. He had nowhere to go and no one he could talk to about his decision. Sure he was a God at video games and his strongest strengths came from his gamer persona he had perfected. Taruchi was the strong man he created to traverse the world because he was never the strongest. So why was he throwing in the towels when it came to Izumi. He knew the alcohol they had was a bit too strong last night but he could still feel the pressure around his heart when he thought of confessing to Izumi. Today was supposed to be the day the great and strong Taruchi completed his route and got a good ending, and yet...he hid in his room for the majority of the day. Sakuya had come by once asking if he was going to join for lunch but he feigned just waking up and promising he’d meet later.

The rest of the day repeated this cycle. Others would knock on his door to make sure things were okay. More often than not, he pushed people away saying he was just playing a game. If it was someone super persistent, he would turn his headphones to full volume, hoping they could hear the loud music from the door. Finally as the day got later, the crews of people gave up, assuming he was too invested in a game to care to join the rest of the troupe. Banri even tried to text him but all he sent back was “ _Don’t worry. Everything is on track.”_   
  
He thought he had managed to sulk and hid in his failure until he heard a soft scratch at his door. He knew who that person was, hearing that knock often when he was late to practice.  
  
“Itaru, do you mind if I come in?” Izumi’s soft voice reverberated in Itaru’s heart. There’s no way he could let a _crush_ into his room. Especially considering how he left it. Looking around at all the empty soda cans and chip wrappers he had, his eyes widened as he heard the door knob slowly turn.

“UHh…! Can you give me 5 minutes to get dressed.” Itaru threw out any excuse he could hoping it would deter Izumi.   
  
“5 minutes and I’m coming in.” At the sound of her voice, Itaru went through the quickest montage of his life. Similar to that one show with the clown and a couch, Itaru felt his body move as if possessed either hiding or trashing things as quickly as possible. As the fifth minute hit, his body collapsed on his gamer chair as Izumi loudly said she was entering.   
  
“Itaru! So you are alive. You had the whole troupe worried holed up in here all day. Even Banri asked me to check on you.”  _ That little snake  _ Itaru thought, covering his irritation in a smile.

“Oh I had a huge raid I was in all day. A few people online asked me to join and I’ve been playing since. Nothing to worry yourself about.”   
  
“Really? Were those people also the same ones who told you to invite me out on a date yesterday?” Itaru sputtered a bit, watching Izumi stare as his reaction confirmed her suspicions. She closed the door behind him, leaving him cornered with nowhere to run.   
  
“I told you, my boss bailed at the last minute and I couldn’t turn away such a nice reservation.”   
  
“Is that the same reason you paid for everything? Itaru, your brand is to cancel or avoid anything that does not require gaming? Sticking to a reservation because your boss bailed? That’s not you.”   
  
Itaru stared at Izumi like a lost child in the grocery store. How was this woman able to read him so well? He thought his reasoning were full proof, but maybe he was acting out of character?   
  
“Also you bought home chocolate covered strawberries earlier this week and asked me to join you for dinner the day before that? Can you please let me know what’s going on. That is also not you.”    
  


Wow, he thought to himself. The Itaru that was not a gamer truly did his best to avoid people. He was never aware enough for someone to tell him about himself, except maybe his older sister, so for his director/crush to lay him out so plainly. Whatever...he should just be honest...not like Izumi would let him escape otherwise.   
  
“Banri and I made a bet. You’re involved. I don’t want to be part of the bet anymore, so I decided to end the game early.”   
  
“What was the bet.” ...great. Better now than never.

“I was suppose to S-rank romance you in 7 days but it’s the end of the sixth day so I failed obviously. I didn’t expect to enjoy my time with you but now that I do, I appreciate who you are. There, now you can go on with your day.”   
  
Itaru watched as Izumi looked at him confused, before she started laughing. He felt his dignity being stripped away bit by bit. Anything that remained, would be torn apart by Banri he was sure. Once her outright laugh turned into giggles, Izumi gave him a rosey face grin.   
  
“I wondered why you were doing so many things differently. If you want to truly “S-rank” me, I would recommend sticking to who you are, not who you were acting like the past few days. But that depends on if you’re up to the challenge...I’m told I’m difficult. ...Though if you take me out more on dates like the one last night, you might win me over faster.” With the slightest wink, Izumi let herself outside of the room leaving Itaru surrounded by his own filth and a mouth wider than the words that wanted to leave his mouth.   
  
_ Did she just...she… _

He could hear the romance points to his path just max.  
  
\--

Day 7 - Acceptance

Another day in Mankai theater. The early risers were already moving around: Omi was prepping breakfast, Tsumugi was checking the plants and Tasuku was gone on another jog. As the hours moved, the later risers would finally join and the theater would begin another day. Nothing had truly changed for most, except one.   
  
Day 7, or what Itaru had dubbed earlier, the day of good ending. He had already got his best ending but he couldn’t tell Banri. In his mind, S-Ranking meant he managed to get Izumi to fall for him, but somehow she had beat him at his own strength. She truly was a woman to fear in some aspects of life, but Itaru was sure he could manage it. He looked down at his phone to see Banri had texted him twice: once at midnight and again at nine am. Both times he had asked for any updates, but he had nothing.   
  
_ “Looks like I failed. I got a normal ending” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Hahaha! Really! That means you lost! Be prepared for what losing means.”  _ Itaru had to laugh at himself. Banri truly thought he won against Itaru just because he lost one simple bet. Itaru had lost a lot in his life, from his best friend in high school to his black hair. A simple bet against a  _ teen _ meant nothing like realizing you had a crush on someone and having them reciprocate it. He could feel the temporary hp and boost to his constitution he gained just from that little confession.

Sure he lost a little battle against a competent rival, but in the war of life? He was still winning. He knew he’d have to address whether or not he wanted to date since that would cut into his gaming, but he would deal with that as things settle down in the theater. Mankai was barely a year old and there were already talks of rookies. He couldn’t disrupt Izumi constantly dragging her away or telling Masumi to back off, so for now he was just comfortable knowing the feeling was mutual.   
  
Itaru truly was a successful man, no longer only in his mind. Banri might not let him live this down, and he cringed to think what that teenage boy was thinking, but nothing could compare to the future he’d be sharing by Izumi maxing his S-Rank. Maybe he should produce some type of tips and tricks for irl dating so others could succeed like him. He had a whole full day ahead of him, he thought as he powered up his computer to start his first draft. By the time Banri arrived, Itaru was pages in thoroughly detailing key plots to avoid and pointers.   
  
The boy could only stare as Itaru obsessed into his computer before he left, slightly disappointed that his jokes and bragging barely affected the salaryman. Maybe something did happen between the two that Itaru did not want to admit, but to throw his perfect streak away.   
  
Man, adults were weird.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hc Izumi being aware that half the theater is in love with her. Of course Liber has to make her 'dense' since that is the otome way but if she's aware of Masumi, she knows.


End file.
